Category:Church of Hala: Difference between revisions

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The Church of Hala keeps its many [[secret]]s from the general public and does not actively recruit]<ref name="Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium III p. 244">[[Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium III]] p. 244</ref><ref name="R3E p. 52">[[Ravenloft Third Edition]] p. 52</ref><ref name="RLPHB p. 66">[[Ravenloft Player's Handbook]] p. 66"</ref> (though it does indulge [[:category:curious|curious]] newcomers if specifically questioned about their goddess]<ref name="Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium III p. 244">[[Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium III]] p. 244</ref>). Therefore, Hala's church holds the majority of power over matters of faith and [[religion]] in no [[domain]]. However, it has [[hospice]]s for the needy and sick sprinkled throughout the [[Core]]<ref name="R3E p. 52">[[Ravenloft Third Edition]] p. 52</ref><ref name="RLPHB p. 66">[[Ravenloft Player's Handbook]] p. 66"</ref>
The Church of Hala keeps its many [[secret]]s from the general public and does not actively recruit]<ref name="Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium III p. 244">[[Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium III]] p. 244</ref><ref name="R3E p. 52">[[Ravenloft Third Edition]] p. 52</ref><ref name="RLPHB p. 66">[[Ravenloft Player's Handbook]] p. 66"</ref> (though it does indulge [[:category:curious|curious]] newcomers if specifically questioned about their goddess]<ref name="Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium III p. 244">[[Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium III]] p. 244</ref>). Therefore, Hala's church holds the majority of power over matters of faith and [[religion]] in no [[domain]]. However, it has [[hospice]]s for the needy and sick sprinkled throughout the [[Core]]<ref name="R3E p. 52">[[Ravenloft Third Edition]] p. 52</ref><ref name="RLPHB p. 66">[[Ravenloft Player's Handbook]] p. 66"</ref>
, though Hala's worship is most focused in the [[Southern Core]].<ref name="R3E p. 54">[[Ravenloft Third Edition]] p. 54</ref><ref name="RLPHB p. 69">[[Ravenloft Player's Handbook]] p. 69</ref>
, though Hala's worship is most focused in the [[Southern Core]].<ref name="R3E p. 54">[[Ravenloft Third Edition]] p. 54</ref><ref name="RLPHB p. 69">[[Ravenloft Player's Handbook]] p. 69</ref>


==Beliefs==
==Beliefs==
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===[[The Weave]]===
===[[The Weave]]===
The Church of Hala describes magic in a different way, a sort of universal weave. It is not clear if witchcraft or the Weave is something separate from magic powers elsewhere in the multiverse.
The Church of Hala describes magic in a different way, a sort of universal weave. It is not clear if witchcraft or the Weave is something separate from magic powers elsewhere in the multiverse.
==Reason for Secrecy==
Given that secrecy may contribute to the faith's undesirable reputation, one may ask why the Halan church clings to such a doctrine. According to [[Sister Marena]], Hala's witches wish to operate within [[society]] but to avoid the [[corruption]] of it. Public knowledge may bring adulation, and this adulation may invite desire for further power. Hala's followers seek to avoid such [[temptation]]. Moreover, secrecy allows them to assist the sick and the needy with less distraction from people whom would seek to exploit their power.]<ref name="Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium III p. 240-241">[[Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium III]] p. 240-241</ref>


==Members==
==Members==

Revision as of 13:34, 27 December 2018

The symbol of Hala with 13 snakes devouring each others' tails.

The Church of Hala worships Hala. It is a mystical faith shrouded in secrecy][1][2][3] loosely based on modern, real-world paganism and witchcraft practices.

Centers

The Church of Hala keeps its many secrets from the general public and does not actively recruit][1][2][3] (though it does indulge curious newcomers if specifically questioned about their goddess][1]). Therefore, Hala's church holds the majority of power over matters of faith and religion in no domain. However, it has hospices for the needy and sick sprinkled throughout the Core[2][3] , though Hala's worship is most focused in the Southern Core.[4][5]

Beliefs

Creation Myth

The exact stories and mythic traditions told within Hala's churches are varied and diversed. The most elementary version is given in the Tales of Ages[6] the Church's sacred text.[2][3] According to this book, it was a collective of nine deities that brought the world into existence from Chaos' mists. However, the other gods then stood back and left mortal kind to make their own decisions. Hala alone of the Nine Gods saw how mortals lacked insight to make the right decisions, so she came back to alleviate the world's burdens. To a cadre of 13 men and women[7], she instructed the secrets of the Weave.[2][3][8] This myth strange resembles a benign version of the Tepestani story of the witch Hallah, whom malevolently usurped the power of magic from the gods; the resemblance of these tales and names is a contributor to the demonization of Hala by the Tepestani Inquisition.[9]

The Weave

The Church of Hala describes magic in a different way, a sort of universal weave. It is not clear if witchcraft or the Weave is something separate from magic powers elsewhere in the multiverse.

Reason for Secrecy

Given that secrecy may contribute to the faith's undesirable reputation, one may ask why the Halan church clings to such a doctrine. According to Sister Marena, Hala's witches wish to operate within society but to avoid the corruption of it. Public knowledge may bring adulation, and this adulation may invite desire for further power. Hala's followers seek to avoid such temptation. Moreover, secrecy allows them to assist the sick and the needy with less distraction from people whom would seek to exploit their power.][10]

Members

Clerics of Hala are called witches, both male and female. However, in Van Richten's Guide to Witches, a Hospice of the Healing Hands in Valachan maintains a group within the mundane functions of the hospice that separates the sexes into "witches" and "warlocks."

A witch is usually a magic user with hereditary or innate power.

Persecution

The Weave is also known as witchcraft and provokes widespread, superstitious fear. Hags, witchcraft's most notorious users, are are the major party responsible for ruining witchcraft’s reputation. Although witchcraft holds no inherent evils, but it is believed to lead down a path festered with occult peril. Exposure to witchcraft is thought to create calibans. folklore posits that transformation into a hag is the fate that awaits a witch that loses control over her magic. People Outside their faith treat Hala's witches with animosity, fear, and wariness. For example, encounters with the Tepestani Inquisition are likely to end quite direly, even fatally, for any recognized witches.[2][3]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium III p. 244
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Ravenloft Third Edition p. 52
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Ravenloft Player's Handbook p. 66 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "RLPHB p. 66" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "RLPHB p. 66" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "RLPHB p. 66" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "RLPHB p. 66" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "RLPHB p. 66" defined multiple times with different content
  4. Ravenloft Third Edition p. 54
  5. Ravenloft Player's Handbook p. 69
  6. Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium III p. 239-240
  7. Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium III p. 257 states that it was 13 men and women total, whereas Ravenloft Third Edition (p. 52) and the Ravenloft Player's Handbook p. 54 specify it was 13 women and 13 men (26 total)
  8. Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium III p. 239-240
  9. Gazetteer V p. 64
  10. Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium III p. 240-241

Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue

Ravenloft Third Edition

Ravenloft Third Edition - p52

Ravenloft Third Edition - p54

Ravenloft Third Edition - p52